Virginia Highlands Community College
Choral Ensemble
This Shining Night:
VHCC Music Department Showcase
Keyser-Aday Theatre
December 3, 2024
7:00 PM
Ryan D. Whittington, Conductor
Schéry Collins, Tammie Davis, Meghan Sullivan, Guest Artists
Christmas Lullaby John Rutter (b. 1945)
VHCC Choral Ensemble
Clear in the darkness a light shines in Bethlehem: Angels are singing, their sound fills the air. Wisemen have journeyed to greet their Messiah; But only a mother and baby lie there.
“Ave Maria, ave Maria”: Hear the soft lullaby the angel hosts sing.
“Ave Maria, ave Maria: Maiden, and mother of Jesus our King.”
Where are his courtiers, and who are his people? Why does he bear neither scepter nor crown?
Shepherds his courtiers, the poor for his people, With peace as his scepter and love for his crown.
What though your treasures are not gold or incense? Lay them before him with hearts full of love. Praise to the Christ child, and praise to his mother Who bore us a Saviour by grace from above.
Carol Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)
VHCC Choral Ensemble
We stood on the hills, Lady, our day’s work done, Watching the frosted meadows that winter had won. The evening was calm, Lady, the air so still, Silence more lovely than music folded the hill. There was a star, Lady, shone in the night, Larger than Venus it was, and bright so bright. Oh, a voice from the sky, Lady, it seemed to us then. Telling of God being born in the world of men. And so we have come, Lady, our day’s work done, Our love, our hopes, ourselves we give to your son. —Clive Sansom (1910–1981)
Shepherd’s
Starry Starry Night Don McLean (b. 1945)
David Collins, piano
“Do You Hear What I Hear” Arr. by Emily Kramer
Emily Kramer, piano
“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” Arr. by David Cullen (b. 1959)
Terrel Smith, bass
Ryan Whittington, piano
“The First Nowell” Arr. by Faye López and Jennifer Whitcomb
Esther Smith, flute
Krystal Smith, piano
“Sure on this Shining Night,” op. 13, no. 3 from Four Songs (1938)
Samuel Barber (1910–1981)
“The Christmas Song”
Chandler Foster, tenor
Pravda Bauer, piano
—INTERMISSION— 15 minutes
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” Arr. by Richard Felciano (b. 1930)
Emma Smith, Emily Kramer, sopranos
Esther Smith, alto
Cantique de Noël: “O Holy Night” Adolphe Adam (1803–1856)
Jessie Rhea, alto
Ryan Whittington, piano
Spiegel im Spiegel: für Cello und Klavier (1978) Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)
Meghan Sullivan, cello
Ryan Whittington, piano
All are invited to sing!
Sure on this Shining Night Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
VHCC Choral Ensemble
Sure on this shining night Of star made shadows round, Kindness must watch for me This side the ground.
The late year lies down the north. All is healed, all is health. High summer holds the earth. Hearts all whole.
Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand’ring far alone Of shadows on the stars.
—James Agee (1909–1955)
Silent Night Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970)
VHCC Choral Ensemble
Schéry Collins, flute - Tammie Davis, violin - Meghan Sullivan, cello
All are invited to sing!
Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright ‘Round yon virgin mother and child! Holy infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace! Sleep in heavenly peace!
Silent night, holy night! Son of God, love’s pure light Radiant, beams from thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth! Jesus, Lord, at thy birth!
Silent night, holy night! Wondrous star lend thy light. With the angels let us sing “Alleluia” to our King. Christ the Savior is born. Christ the Savior is born.
Sopranos:
Beth Taylor
Emily Kramer
Emma Smith
Jessie Rhea
Kandace Miller
Kristie Sholtis
Susan Thomas
Victoria Vankovich
Altos: Alove Cole
Carol Raedy
Chloe Yarborough
Daryl Ann Beeghley
Esther Smith
Jordan Ferguson
Krystal Smith
Pravda Bauer
Tenors:
Ryan Davis
Chandler Foster
Basses:
Jake Allison
Terrel Smith
David Collins
John Rutter’s Christmas Lullaby features a beautiful poem written by the composer and set to a lilting melody. It speaks of wealth and power upturned to favor the meek and the humble. Refrains of “Ave Maria” punctuate each stanza. The final stanza is presented a cappella before growing to the music’s climax with the final refrain.
The Shepherd’s Carol is one of the best-loved carols by Bob Chilcott. Written for Stephen Cleobury and the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, the carol imagines the conversations that took place when the shepherd’s arrived, disoriented and weary, to the scene of the nativity. The melody might feel folk-like and simple, but is incredibly difficult for the choir to execute. This irony is what makes this carol so rewarding to perform.
—Ryan Whittington
The song Starry Starry Night was written by Don McLean and is actually titled “Vincent” as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. McLean was reading a biography of Van Gogh and decided to write a song about him. The song has become an homage to the artist, his life’s work, and his long battle with mental illness. The beautiful melody and words crafted by McLean speak to the brilliance of Van Gogh as an artist. My fascination with the song stems from imagining Van Gogh’s vivid paintings and hearing McLean’s carefully chosen words against the provocative melody and harmony.
—David Collins
“Do You Hear What I Hear” is a classic Christmas carol written by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne in 1962. Written during the height of the Cold War, it gave its listeners a sense of peace during that time. In this arrangement you will hear the soft simple melody grow and change as the piece progresses. I have also intertwined another Christmas favorite, “The Little Drummer Boy,” into the piece.
—Emily Kramer
“The First Nowell” is a traditional Christmas carol anonymously written in the seventeenth century. The word “noel” comes from the Latin word “nasci,” which means “to be born.” This arrangement is set for a flute and a pianist. It switches from compound to simple meter more than once, and a verse from “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” is woven into the arrangement.
—Esther Smith
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is an Advent hymn. It was originally sung in Latin as “Veni, Veni, Emmanuel” in monasteries, seven days before Christmas Eve. This chant was first translated into English in 1851 by John Mason Neale. The text we are singing is Neale’s 1861 revision for Hymns Ancient and Modern. This arrangement is written for three voices a cappella, with the final stanza performed as a round. The alto line for the final stanza was newly composed by Esther Smith.
—Emma Smith, Esther Smith, and Emily Kramer
Placide Cappeau wrote the poem Minuit chrétiens on December 3, 1847 during a stage coach ride. Not long after, Cappeau requested Adolphe Adam to set the poem to music. Adam’s setting is now sung in English as “O Holy Night.” During the mid-nineteenth century the song was often banned for its anti-slavery stance. The final stanza reads “Truly he taught us to love one another his law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother.” Now the song is a staple of the Christmas music repertoire, though all the stanzas are rarely performed in full.
—Jessie Rhea
Estonian composer Arvo Pärt wrote Spiegel im Spiegel in 1978 just before he departed his homeland for Germany. The title means “mirror(s) in the mirror,” which describes the reflective nature of the slow-moving melody. He is known for his tintinnabular style, which describes writing music for any instrument intended to evoke bells. I first heard Spiegel im Spiegel in a concert while a thunderstorm pelted the roof outside. The combination of the twinkly piano notes, the warm, sustained melody, and the rain drops on the roof provoked an out-of-body experience that I recall each time I hear this piece played.
“Sure on this Shining Night” is the third movement of a cycle of choral works called Nocturnes by American composer Morten Lauridsen. His setting accompanies James Agee’s text about the calm healing and renewal of nature with flowing, warm music that transforms Agee’s poem into a lullaby. The most poignant line, “I weep for wonder wandering far alone” is set with intentional clashes between the alto and soprano lines, musically representing the bitter sweetness of changing seasons.
The tenor and bass voices begin Shawn Kirchner’s setting of Silent Night in simplicity and childlike wonder. The piano accompaniment is reminiscent of the guitar accompaniment of the first performance of this German carol. The soprano and alto voices join the lower voices in simple two-voice accompaniment, which grows to four-voice texture in stanza two. After an unexpected key change, the sopranos sing “Alleluias” that soar above the ensemble evoking angelic singing before returning to the simple two-part harmony with which the piece began.
—Ryan Whittington
